App FAQs

How does the app work?

To receive spoken alerts the app needs Bluetooth turned on. The app downloads a sites file periodically, which contains the coordinates of every Bluetooth broadcasting device on the local network. If you do not have an internet connection, this file may become out-of-date. By using the sites file, the app does not need to use GPS to determine your location and direction of travel. As you pass through intersections where our Bluetooth devices are installed, the app uses the identifier of the device to determine where you are. If you have passed another device previously, the app will also be able to work out your general direction of travel.

When the system detects congestion, the devices will broadcast a message about the location, cause (if known) and magnitude of delays. The app will only speak alerts that are relevant to your current direction of travel. The app assumes that you may also be turning left or right or continuing straight through at your current location, so you may get alerts that are not relevant. In the Settings menu of the app, you can configure the spoken alerts.

The map interface of the app is independent of the spoken alerts and needs a data connection for the map to load and refresh. If you use Navigation Mode (map screen stays on and follows you on the map), this requires Location Services to be turned on to centre your current location on the map. The information displayed on the map will be dependent on your local road authority. Addinsight can display delay information and incident / roadworks locations if the local road authority has provided a feed to us.

Alert messages out of the phone loud speaker are too quiet.

A common issue for iPhone users is that they have “Alert via
Handsfree” turned on. This is in the app settings menu. If you are not
connected to a car stereo and you have this setting turned on, the audio alerts
come through the phone's ear piece instead of the phone's loud speaker.

Another thing to check is the volume level on
your phone. Within the settings menu of the app is a “Test Alert” button that
you can use to make sure that you will be able to hear spoken alerts. While the
test alert is playing turn up the volume controls on the phone to adjust the
volume level.

Can’t hear alert messages at all.

This is a very common question and the solution will vary
depending on the type of device you have and whether you are connecting to a
hands-free kit / car stereo.

Run through the following steps to diagnose the cause:

Step 1. Make sure that your phone is not connected to a hands-free device or anything via
Bluetooth. Within the settings menu of the app is a “Test Alert” button that
you can use to make sure that you will be able to hear spoken alerts. Press the
“Test Alert” button. If you can hear a message loud and clear skip to Step 5.

Step 2. Check the volume level on your phone. To do this,
press the “Test Alert” button and while a test alert is playing, turn up the
volume controls on the phone to adjust the volume level. If you can hear the
message loud and clear skip to Step 5. If you can’t hear a message or it is not
very loud, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3. If you have an iPhone, make sure that “Alert via
Handsfree” is turned off and then try the test button. With this setting turned
on it is likely that the audio alert will be played through the phone's ear piece
instead of the phone's loud speaker. If you can hear a message loud and clear skip to
Step 5.

Step 4. Make sure that your device has Text-to-Speech
enabled. This will be located in your phone’s settings menu and will vary
between devices. It tends to be in the “Language and Input” menu. Android devices
can download the Google text-to-speech engine if you do not have anything
installed and iPhones should have Siri enabled. Once you have this installed repeat Steps 1 and 2. If you
still cannot hear anything contact appbugs@addinsight.com.au.

Step 5. If you can now hear messages from the phone loud
speaker and you do not connect your phone to a car stereo or hands-free device
then your setup is complete. If you need to connect to a hands-free device or
car stereo do this now before continuing with Step 6. For iPhone users, also
turn on the “Alert via
Handsfree” setting.

Step 6. Some connected devices cannot be
detected by the app and this usually depends on whether the connected device
supports Bluetooth audio streaming or just hands-free calls. Press the “Test
Alert” button. If you cannot hear anything through the hands-free device, check
if the alert is instead playing through the phone ear piece. If this is the
case, iPhone users can turn off the “Alert via Handsfree” setting to force the
audio through the phone loud speaker. Android users will need to contact appbugs@addinsight.com.au to
diagnose the problem.

Some delays are not showing on the map and I didn't get an alert.

There are a few reasons why delays may not be on the map or why you didn't get a spoken alert.

The Addinsight map is designed for commuters that are familiar with the routes that they drive on a daily basis. Commuters already allow for some level of delay in their trip to ensure they get to their destination on time. If the network is running normally for a particular time of day, the map will show no delays and no alert messages will be broadcast. Only delays that are greater than expected for that time of day are displayed on the map, which is why the labels display something like "+4min" next to each coloured line. This indicates that delays are 4 minutes higher than normal. It may be that 3 minutes delay is normal, but current delays are 7 minutes (3+4min). Delays need to be at least 2 minutes higher than normal before Addinsight will broadcast spoken alerts. This is different to other maps such as Google Maps, which do not differentiate between normal and unexpected delays.

If the delays are outside of our Bluetooth coverage area, we cannot report them on the map. There may also be instances where we temporarily lose coverage due to blackouts and communication issues.

If you think you should have received an alert, send a bug report via the app's Troubleshooting menu and provide details of the time and location. The bug report will attach a log file that allows us to check if you should have heard an alert message and we can also check the system data to track down the reason.

I drove through some roadworks, but I didn’t receive an alert (South Australian Users Only).

Delay
broadcasts are not associated with the existence of roadworks and the icons on
the map are in no way related to the broadcasts. The broadcasts are based
purely on the existence of delays that are greater than normal for that time of
day. If the roadworks are not causing significant delays (more than 2 minutes
extra travel time), you will not hear a broadcast. The purpose of the system is
to notify road users in situations when an alternative route may be worth
considering. In most cases, an unexpected delay of less than two minutes would
not be enough incentive to use an alternate route.

There was a roadworks / incident icon on the map, but I didn’t receive an alert (South Australian Users Only).

Delay
broadcasts are not associated with the existence of roadworks and the icons on
the map are in no way related to the broadcasts. The broadcasts are based
purely on the existence of delays that are greater than normal for that time of
day. If the roadworks are not causing significant delays (more than 2 minutes
extra travel time), you will not hear a broadcast. The purpose of the system is
to notify road users in situations when an alternative route may be worth
considering. In most cases, an unexpected delay of less than two minutes would
not be enough incentive to use an alternate route.

I drove through some roadworks that were not on the map (South Australian Users Only).

DPTI
should be notified by the individuals undertaking roadworks on or adjacent to
DPTI controlled roads. Once notified, we add this to the map. DPTI controlled
roads are primarily the major arterial routes and the remainder are managed by
the local Council. We have no control over roadworks on Council-owned roads and
in most cases we are not notified about such works. This includes all works
undertaken within the Adelaide City Council area which includes all of the
roads inside the Adelaide Parklands. If you observe roadworks on a DPTI road
that are not on the map, please contact the traffic management centre on 1800
018 313 and we will investigate.

Do I need the screen active to hear alerts?

No,
you only need the app to be running in the background to hear the congestion
alerts.

I thought I didn’t need data access to use the app.

To
receive the incident messages, there is no need to have an internet connection.
The app needs an internet connection to download the site information on the
first run of the app. Without the sites information the app cannot provide
spoken messages. A data connection is needed to display the base map, delay
lines and roadworks / incident icons.

I have noticed that the app is using a lot of battery power.

The
app can be used in many different ways and some of them are very battery
intensive. Navigation mode will use a lot of battery power and we only
recommend that this mode is used if the phone is plugged into a power source.
This mode keeps the screen awake and will use the phone’s GPS to track your
location on the map. It will also frequently download data to keep the map
information up to date. Finally, it will use Bluetooth LE to listen for
broadcast messages.

If you are only using the app to listen for broadcast
messages with the app running in the background the battery consumption should
be very low. In background mode the app will not use GPS and will stop updating the map via a data connection. The Android version will also turn off Bluetooth scanning if the phone's motion sensor detects that you are not driving. Earlier versions of the Android app kept Bluetooth scanning on permanently, causing battery drain, so make sure you have the latest version of the app on the Play Store.

How to Select Audio Output Mode (Apple Devices Only)

Alert via connected car stereo / hands-free kit

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Alert via phone's loud speaker

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Download

Addinsight is free to download for compatible Apple and Android devices. Apple devices need to be running iOS 8.0 or later. Android devices need Android 4.3 or later. All devices need to be Bluetooth V4 compatible. If you are unable to download the app, but you believe your device should be compatible, please contact us via email appbugs@addinsight.com.au. Please include information about your device type and operating system version.

Addinsight System

The Addinsight app is just one part of a larger system called Addinsight that monitors the road network. To find out more please go to the main Addinsight page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the app or if you are having trouble installing / using the app, please contact us via email appbugs@addinsight.com.au.